Stockholm Syndrome l.h

13

The car ride consisted of music and singing. I was actually enjoying my time with Luke.

I turned down the music, when a thought came to mind. Luke gave me a confused glance. "You alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah.. Uhm. Where exactly are we going?"

"The mall." He simply said.

"The... The mall?" I was getting a bit nervous. I don't have many fond memories about being in a mall.

"Is there something wrong with the mall?"

"No no. It's just.. How do I put this?" My mind went blank. "You're well.. You. And I'm well.. Me."

He scrunched his nose. "It's all good. Trust me."

I sighed and crossed my arms.

•••

We pulled into the drive way and it was almost empty.

"It looks like a ghost town." I unbuckled my seatbelt.

"Yeah. This is the only time I really come out here. Hardly anyone comes here at this time." He parked and undid his seatbelt, turning the ignition off.

"Ready?" He opened his door.

I opened mine and nodded.

We got out and began walking. Luke threw his hand over his shoulder turning the alarm on with his keys.

I was getting nervous already.

"You're so slow." He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the glass doors.

The place was huge. There were two floors filled with endless amounts of shops.

"Where to?" He looked down at me.

I looked up. "You tell me."

He smiled small. "Come on. This way."

I followed him down the long hall, looking through every glass window we passed. I was in awe. This place was almost paradise. I'm not much of a material girl but I really enjoyed shopping.

An old favourite store of mine caught my eyes. In big pink letters spelt the word 'deb'.

I hadn't noticed I stopped in my tracks when Luke poked my cheek. "See something you like?" He asked.

I nodded and walked into the store. I began looking through the racks of clothes, pulling out a few tops.

"Luke?" I called.

Crap. I lost him.

"Luke?" I called again.

Where did he go?

I walked back to the main enterence where I last seen him. There he was. Standing at a small stand that sold sunglasses. I sighed in relief and turned back around.

I'm not really sure what I'm suppose to be getting. I bit the inside of my cheek in frustration. Oh well, I guess I'll go for some jeans.

As I rummaged through the jeans, I began remembering how my mother used to take me to this store all the time. The thought made my heart ache. I miss her.

I began pulling down a pair of black skinny jeans, when I felt a hand on my waist causing me to jump and drop my things.

I looked up and seen Luke laughing. "Damn it, Luke." I bent down and picked up the pieces of clothing I dropped.

He rested his hands on his stomach to try and control his laughter. "You should've..." He laughed some more. "You should've seen your face."

"Jerk." I mumbled and walked over to the shoes, leaving the laughing mess behind.

"Oh come on. Don't be mad." I heard his voice from behind me.

I pulled down a pair of combat boots, examining its bundle of buckles. I placed them back and moved on.

"Hey, look. I'm sorry okay." He placed his hands on my shoulders and bent down to my eye level.

"You scared me."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"I won't do it again, promise."

"Alright.. Enough with the mushy mush. What exactly am I suppose to be getting."

He shrugged. "Anything. We're going back on tour. So, just casual."

I huffed. "Sounds good."

•••

After about a few hours going back and forth to stores I began feeling hungry.

"Luke?" I tugged his arm. I'm starting to feel more comfortable around him.

"Yes?" He dragged.

"Can we get something to eat. I'm starving."

He nodded, "To the food court." He pointed to the direction of the food and led the way.

We decided it was best to get some Chinese food. Orange chicken, fried vegetable rice, egg roles, all that good stuff.

Luke picked a good table close to the center of the court and placed the tray of food on the table.

"It looks so good." I smile and sit down, placing my bags beside me.

"I know I do." He opened his box of orange chicken.

"Ha ha ha." I fake laughed at his rediculous joke.

"Close your eyes." He smiled.

"Why?" I began to worry.

"I have a surprise for you." He bit on his lip ring.

Little fucker.

I closed my eyes and held out my hand. Not a moment too soon I felt something rest in my palm.

When I opened my eyes I smiled, but it faded quickly.

"Luke, I can't accept these." I tried to hand him back the pair of Ray-Bans that sat on my palm. "These must've cost a fortune."

"It's so problem. They're yours. I got them so we could match." He pulled out a matching pair.

I smiled. "You're amazing."

"Well, you're awesome!" He responded.

Our conversation basically stayed like that for about a hour until...

"Shit, what time is it?" Luke panicked.

"I don't know.."

He pulled out his phone.

Hey I remember having one of those.

"It's 9:30!" He yelled. "We're late, we have to get back." He began rushing around and throwing our food out.

We rushed out the door and to his truck, getting in quickly.